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Geoff Lemon
Thanks Megan. Another ridiculous bail-out by Beth Mooney, she is the Obama of the Australian team. Pakistan should by rights have been chasing 120 at most from that early position. I’m tipping now that they’ll be so discouraged at having let it slip that they won’t bat with any command. But they have their chance to prove otherwise.
ShareMegan Maurice
It’s been great fun guiding you through this first innings, but it’s time for me to say farewell. I’ll leave you in the incredibly capable hands of one of my favourite colleagues, Geoff Lemon. Enjoy the rest of the match and I’ll catch you next time!
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Updated at 09.25 EDT
Australia sets Pakistan 222 for victory
Well, what an intriguing match this has been so far! It started out with Healy and Litchfield looking pretty comfortable – taking runs where they could to set a nice platform for the team to launch from. But Healy was the first to fall and Litchfield tried to slash across the line inexplicably soon after. Perry, Sutherland, Gardner, McGrath and Wareham never looked confident and appeared completely rattled by the bowling. Mooney and Garth started the fightback, but Garth’s visible frustration with her lack of scoring buoyed the Pakistan bowlers and eventually they were able to get her with a beautiful stumping.
Momentum really started to swing Australia’s way when King came to the crease. She was immediately comfortable with the support role and was happy to wait out the maiden overs, not throw away her wicket and start to build the pressure on the fielders with quick singles and twos.
Mooney was at her brilliant best. Even though she wasn’t scoring a lot of boundaries for most of her innings, she never looked unsettled or impatient, she was happy to keep playing on the back foot to create space for herself and play those nice shots for ones and twos.
Once the two got deep into the innings, they were able to lift and take it to another level, scoring 34 runs from the final two overs of the match. Some great late hitting from King got her to her first ODI half century.
Pakistan will rue the lost opportunity to close the innings out early. At one stage it looked like they might keep Australia under 100 runs and give themselves a huge chance of taking the upset win. But 222 is a tricky target – especially considering they were all out for 159 against India and 129 against Bangladesh. They’ve kept the Australians well under their ideal total, but have they done enough to get a win? It’s certainly not impossible, but they will have to maintain the belief they had when they were taking all those wickets earlier on in the match.
A huge innings to come, so stay with us!
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50th over: Australia 221-9 (King 51)
The final over of this innings and it’s the captain Fatima bowling it. King starts the over with a slog for six – a beautifully clean hit. She pulls the next ball for a six as well and brings up her first ODI half century. She gets an edge on the next ball that flies to Sidra’s gloves very quickly, but it hits her thumb and she can’t hold on to it. They run through for a single and then Mooney gets in on the boundary action with two fours, bringing up the 100 partnership between these two batters. Mooney loses her wicket on the last ball, but what a sensational performance from her to save this innings from near certain disaster.
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WICKET! Mooney c Sadaf b Fatima 109 (Australia 221-9)
It’s a consolation wicket to Pakistan at the end, but they finally get Mooney and more importantly, stop any scoring opportunities on the final ball of the over. It’s an easy catch for Sadaf, but no big celebrations – it’s all about their batting performance now.
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49th over: Australia 200-8 (King 38, Mooney 101)
King takes strike to start Diana’s final over and she swings hard at the first ball and misses. Now that they’re into the final two overs, perhaps she wants to go hard and push the run rate up. Next ball she pulls one for six, so yes – I think we can confirm that intention. Then it’s another pull shot for four. She looks like a different player all of a sudden! It’s a productive over for Australia, bringing up the 200.
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48th over: Australia 187-8 (King 26, Mooney 100)
This truly has been an amazing fightback from Australia, as they creep towards 200. That number wasn’t even in consideration when Wareham fell for a duck, but this partnership has put on quite a rescue mission. Fatima is bowling her ninth over, desperate for a breakthrough. Sweat is dripping off Mooney and her shirt is soaked, but she keeps on persisting, to the frustration of Pakistan, bringing up her century with yet another determined single.
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100 to Beth Mooney!
What an innings from Mooney, she has made all the difference today and despite the heat, she has pushed through to rescue a flailing innings.
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47th over: Australia 181-8 (King 23, Mooney 97)
Mooney has overcome that slight rattling and she smacks the first ball of Diana’s over for four. And then Diana gives her too much width, so she hits the next ball for four as well. Diana finds her length and fights back well with a dot. There’s a bit of sloppy fielding creeping in from Pakistan and Mooney and King run a three, despite the heat and fatigue.
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46th over: Australia 168-8 (King 21, Mooney 86)
A quick single from King to get Sadia’s final over of the day underway. Pakistan think they’ve got Mooney LBW and the umpire agrees, but Mooney reviews and the third umpire finds that the ball was going on to miss the stumps. But they might have rattled her a little, because soon after she pops one straight up in the air and is lucky that it lands safely. King relieves the pressure with a four on the last ball of the over to bring up the 50 partnership between these two.
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45th over: Australia 162-8 (King 16, Mooney 85)
Sidra starts the over with another stumping attempt, but Mooney is very quick to get her foot back in her crease – call it wicketkeeper’s instinct. It’s incredible how often Mooney looks completely cooked, but manages to keep on going and scoring runs as if her face isn’t the reddest, sweatiest item on the planet. Diana is bowling a good line and length for most of the over, but gives a bit too much width at the end, which gives King an easy single.
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44th over: Australia 158-8 (King 15, Mooney 82)
Sadia continues her spell and Mooney starts it with a single. Sadia looks once again to try to build the pressure on King, but she and Mooney are too good at darting through for those quick singles to put the pressure back on the field.
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43rd over: Australia 155-8 (King 14, Mooney 80)
Mooney plays probably her most productive shot this innings – the flick off the hips – to the first ball of Diana’s over. Aaron Finch in commentary refers to it as a ‘professional single’ – giving the single to the recognised batter to get the other batter on strike. But King is able to keep turning the strike over and Australia bring up the 150. That’s a feat that seemed impossible when they were 76-7, but this has been an impressive fightback. Mooney finishes the over with a boundary and a single – she continues to be excellent.
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42nd over: Australia 146-8 (King 13, Mooney 72)
Sadia starts her eighth over well, building the dot ball pressure on King. Pakistan are hoping to lure her into playing a false shot, but she doesn’t fall into the trap. However, it’s a maiden from Sadia, so not a bad result for Pakistan either.
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41st over: Australia 146-8 (King 13, Mooney 72)
Diana is back for another spell and Mooney beats two fielders with a straight drive to get the ball past the boundary and relieve some more of that pressure. King has a big swing and a miss when she gets on strike – can she keep that frustration and impatience at bay to close this game out?
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40th over: Australia 140-8 (King 12, Mooney 67)
Mooney is absolutely dripping with sweat, but she still manages to look unbothered as Fatima peppers the ball in and around her. Fatima gives away a wide early on, but Sidra is very quick to pick it up and even attempts a stumping, but Mooney is in her crease. Despite the frustrations of the Australian fightback, there still appears to be a lot of joy in the Pakistan team and they’re not letting the pressure rattle them.
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39th over: Australia 138-8 (King 12, Mooney 66)
Nashra bowls her final over for today – she has been outstanding. Mooney is just timing her shots so beautifully, waiting on the ball and getting on the back foot to find the gaps in the field. But it speaks volumes about the quality of the bowling and the trickiness of the pitch that even these shots are often just getting singles, where usually she’d be finding the boundary with them. King does find the boundary on the last ball, but it’s a dangerous-looking shot that fortunately lands safely and races to the boundary for four.
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38th over: Australia 133-8 (King 8, Mooney 65)
Fatima is back into the attack after a short break and King and Mooney keep putting the pressure back on the field with quick running between the wickets. Fatima fights back with two dots – it’s a fascinating battle between bat and ball at the moment. King is playing her role well here, offering great support to Mooney and looking more comfortable in that support role than Garth did.
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37th over: Australia 128-8 (King 5, Mooney 63)
Nashra is back and there is almost a run out on the first ball of the over. Diana picks up the ball cleanly and releases it quickly, but it just misses the stumps. She gets King edging, but there’s no slip in and the ball lands safely and King scampers through for a single. She gets a slip in next time King is on strike and it’s almost a replay of the previous ball, but it goes slightly wider this time and even the slip can’t reach it.
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36th over: Australia 123-8 (King 2, Mooney 61)
I’m surprised to see Diana back – she lost her shape late in that last over, despite the wicket of Garth. I thought they would give her a little rest here, but she starts the over well with four dot balls to King and I have no doubt Fatima is much more on top of her bowling rotations than I am! She loses her line a little and gives King too much width and she cuts it well to run a single and get off strike. Mooney finishes the over off with another single.
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35th over: Australia 121-8 (King 1, Mooney 60)
Shamim is back to bowl her final over for the game. She would love another wicket here. King is picking up where Garth left off and is running well with Mooney to turn ones into twos and dots into ones. Shamim can’t get that wicket she was after, but it’s been a fantastic performance from her.
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34th over: Australia 117-8 (King 0, Mooney 57)
Diana continues and Mooney brings up her half century with a pull shot to deep backward square. Diana gives away a wide and then a misfield gives Mooney another boundary, which she follows up with a well-run two. She has found a way to put the pressure back on to Pakistan here. But once Garth is back on strike, Sidra makes magic with the stumping and King comes to the crease. The first ball to King is a wide and so is the second – Diana needs to take a little moment to calm herself after that Garth wicket. She manages a legal delivery and King plays it safely to a fielder.
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WICKET! Garth st Sidra b Diana 11 (Australia 115-8)
Sidra has a huge celebrappeal and I wasn’t convinced and neither was the umpire. But we were both wrong and Sidra is right – Garth’s foot was millimetres out of her ground and Sidra was all over it.
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33rd over: Australia 104-7 (Garth 11, Mooney 49)
We return from the drinks break with Shamim bowling her ninth over. A little misfield from Fatima lets Garth take a quick single to get the over moving from the first ball. Mooney flicks one off her hips and senses a little bit of hesitancy in the field and uses it to push for a second run. There’s a lot more confidence in this batting after the drinks break – clearly some good wisdom imparted to them along with the hydration.
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32nd over: Australia 100-7 (Garth 10, Mooney 46)
Diana returns for her second spell after bowling two of the opening overs of the match. Her first ball is very good, narrowly missing the stumps. It comes off Garth’s pads, but she’s credited with the runs and she won’t be unhappy with that! Australia bring up their 100 runs with a good cut shot from Garth – it’s just a single, but the confidence in the shot is a good sign. Drinks are on the field now.
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31st over: Australia 97-7 (Garth 7, Mooney 46)
Shamim comes back into the attack, after her two crucial wickets earlier in the match. The ball pops up off the turf and hits Eyman in the chin, so we have a short break as the concussion protocols are followed and she is assessed on the field. Garth is beginning to look a little more comfortable out there and these two batters will be looking to take this partnership as deep as they can.
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30th over: Australia 94-7 (Garth 5, Mooney 45)
Fatima continues and Garth drives the first ball and looks to get off strike, but it’s straight to the field. Fatima is bowling an uncomfortable line to Garth – Pakistan are really focusing in on her to try to break this partnership. She manages the quick single with a flick off her hips late in the over.
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29th over: Australia 93-7 (Garth 4, Mooney 45)
A very difficult length ball from Sadia to start the over, Garth can’t do anything but play around it. She’s visibly frustrated at her lack of ability to get the ball away. Sadia gives away a wide midway through the over, a blip in an otherwise great over so far. Pakistan will want to keep Garth on strike and build that frustration to force her into an error.
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28th over: Australia 91-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 45)
As is customary, Mooney is very bright red in the face, but she continues to hold this batting innings together. Fatima brings herself back into the attack for the first fast bowling we’ve seen in a while. That’s good news for me, because all these overs of spin have meant I have to type very fast indeed. Nice of Fatima to think of me with her decisions. It turns out to also be a pretty good tactical decision as she starts the over with four dots before Mooney plays one off her hip for two. There’s very nearly a run out on the second run, but Fatima isn’t in a good position to take the ball and she is too far away to effect the run out in time.
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27th over: Australia 89-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 43)
A very determined pull shot from Mooney delivers the first boundary in nine overs. She looks like finding the boundary on the other side next ball, but a diving effort from the skipper Fatima makes it a dot instead.
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26th over: Australia 84-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 38)
Mooney starts with a very quick single to Sadia’s bowling after driving the ball straight to the fielder and manages to put the pressure back on Pakistan, forcing a misfield. Garth doesn’t find it quite as easy to get off strike and can only play defensively for the rest of the over. The final ball catches the edge of her bat, but it falls safely due to her soft hands coming through the ball.
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25th over: Australia 83-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 37)
Nashra continues and Mooney again turns the strike over with a nice cut shot. The second ball looks like a dot, but Nashra lets it get past her and Garth can get off strike straight away, rather than building the pressure on her. Pakistan need to stop every run they can to give themselves the best chance to win this game and beat Australia for the first time ever.
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24th over: Australia 80-7 (Garth 2, Mooney 35)
Sadia returns for her second spell, replacing Shamim. She immediately gets Garth cramped right up, hitting the toe of her bat – for some reason Pakistan appeal for LBW, maybe just to keep the umpires on their toes? Garth doesn’t look overly comfortable out there, but Australia will need her to hold on and go with Mooney to help them compile a defendable total. A maiden from Sadia, very well bowled.
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23rd over: Australia 80-7 (Garth 2, Mooney 35)
Mooney plays a beautiful cut shot to Nashra to start the over. She is still looking relatively calm and in control, but she’s not going at a particularly quick rate either. Finally Pakistan have the umpire interested in an LBW. Garth reviews it immediately and it turns out she got an inside edge on it, so Australia have a reprieve. Mooney sprinted down to the boundary to take a message from sub Heather Graham while the review took place. Another good over from Nashra.
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22nd over: Australia 78-7 (Garth 1, Mooney 34)
Shamim resumes to Mooney, who is finding singles easily enough at the moment – it will be interesting to see how she responds as the pressure increases and more runs are needed. Wareham can’t manage the same and she just prods the ball back to Shamim when she really needed to stay with Mooney. Garth comes to the middle with a lot of work to do.
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WICKET! Wareham c&b Shamim 0 (Australia 76-7)
An incredible diving catch from Shamim off her own bowling sends Wareham back to the sheds without troubling the scorers. This is a sensational bowling (and fielding) peformance from Pakistan against the reigning world champions.
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21st over: Australia 75-6 (Wareham 0, Mooney 32)
Nashra bowls her fifth over and Mooney gets off strike with a nice back foot shot. McGrath loses her wicket and Wareham comes to the middle.
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WICKET! McGrath c Diana b Nashra 5 (Australia 75-6)
What a spell from Nashra – she has her third now, drawing McGrath in with a very slow delivery, just 62km/hr. A diving catch from Diana at short extra cover seals the wicket.
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20th over: Australia 74-5 (McGrath 5, Mooney 31)
After a frustrating over, McGrath looks more comfortable against Shamim and immediately comes down the pitch to turn the ball into a full toss and runs a quick single. There is work to be done to rebuild this innings, but Australia will be confident in their bowling and will know that every run they score here gives them a better target to bowl at, so they will just continue to try to rack up some runs without panicking.
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19th over: Australia 70-5 (McGrath 3, Mooney 29)
A long spell from Nashra in the context of this game, but she is continuing to deliver. McGrath can’t seem to get her away and Mooney comes down the pitch to chat to her. Finally she sweeps one on the last ball of the over – it doesn’t look fully controlled, but it lands safely and she runs one.
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18th over: Australia 69-5 (McGrath 2, Mooney 29)
Shamim appeals for an LBW on McGrath early in the over, but that is one mode of dismissal they’re not having much luck with so far today. Mooney is starting to look more comfortable now after a decent amount of time in the middle and she’s managing to accumulate some runs.
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17th over: Australia 66-5 (McGrath 1, Mooney 27)
Another over from Nashra now. Mooney is able to turn the strike over thanks to a misfield from Pakistan that releases a little of the pressure. But Nashra turns it back on with some good line and length bowling. McGrath is able to get off the mark with a single and Mooney comes very close to chopping on, but the ball just misses the stumps and then another misfield the next ball gives Mooney a much-needed boundary.
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